1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an adaptive speed control device. More specifically, the present invention relates to an adaptive speed control device that notifies a driver of an upcoming change to the posted speed limit along the vehicle's expected path, and automatically changes the vehicle's set speed according to a new posted speed limit upon receiving a set speed signal inputted by the driver.
2. Background Information
In recent years, some vehicles are equipped with a speed control system such as a cruise control system and an adaptive cruise control system (ACC). The adaptive cruise control system is similar to the conventional cruise control system in that it maintains the vehicle's pre-set speed. However, unlike the conventional cruise control system, the adaptive cruise control system can automatically adjust the vehicle speed in order to maintain a proper distance between the host vehicle and the preceding vehicle in the same lane.
Moreover, an improved adaptive speed control system is under development, which integrates route information to adjust the vehicle's cruising speed to match actual road conditions. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,426,432 proposes a cooperative speed control system that automatically determines a new vehicle set speed based on local required speed information and automatically changes the vehicle speed to a new set vehicle speed without driver intervention.
In view of the above, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure that there exists a need for an improved adaptive speed control device. This invention addresses this need in the art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.